Duke Energy announced A long-term agreement for the sale of 99 megawatts (MW) of electricity from its new Wyoming wind farm as well as the purchase of 100 wind turbines from General Electric that will produce 150 MW of power at multiple U.S. sites. Both transactions accelerate Duke Energy’s continued growth in renewable energy.

Duke Energy will begin building the Campbell Hill Windpower project near Casper, Wyo., in early 2009, and the facility’s 66 wind turbines will begin generating electricity by late 2009.

PacifiCorp, which operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Wyoming, has entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase all of the power generated by the Campbell Hill project. The output from the project will go into the utility’s integrated electric system, serving customers in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California.

Separately, Duke Energy executed an agreement to purchase the General Electric wind turbines for its 2010 wind power generation projects.

“Soaring interest in wind energy has translated into growing demand for turbines and a tightening supply,” said David Marks, DEGS senior vice president for wind energy.

By the end of 2008, Duke Energy will have more than 500 MW of wind-powered generation projects in operation and an additional 5,000 MW in development.

“The execution of power purchase agreements and the acquisition of cutting-edge technology are two of the key ingredients needed to commercialize our portfolio of development projects,” Marks said. “We’re on the way to making that vision a reality.”

Terms of the two contracts were not disclosed.

Duke Energy acquired Catamount Energy, and it included 300 MW of renewable energy in operation. The deal also included an interest in the Sweetwater project in Nolan County, Texas, which is one of the largest wind projects in the world. Duke Energy also will gain approximately 1,750 MW of development interests in several states and the United Kingdom through the acquisition.